Hilliard, Earl F. (Earl Frederick), 1942-

Earl Frederick Hilliard (born April 9, 1942) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Alabama who served as the U.S. Representative for the state's 7th district.

Hilliard was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from Morehouse College. He was elected as a Democrat to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1974 and served from 1975 until 1981 and in the Alabama Senate from 1981 until 1992. Hilliard was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1992 from the 7th District, a 65 percent black-majority district stretching from Birmingham to Montgomery. In the process, he became the first Black person since Jeramiah Haralson in 1877 to represent Alabama in Congress. He also became the first Democrat to represent a significant portion of the capital since 1965.

He faced his first serious challenge from Artur Davis in the 2000 Democratic primary election—the real contest in this heavily Democratic district—but prevailed. Davis challenged Hilliard again in 2002 in a district that had been changed significantly by redistricting. The campaign that year was focused on Hilliard's record in office and alleged ethical issues, as well as race, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and terrorism. Because a third candidate also ran in the Democratic primary, Hilliard finished with the most votes but failed to win a majority; under Alabama law, he then faced a rematch with second-place finisher Davis in a run-off election. Davis won the run-off with 54% of the vote.

Hilliard returned to his law firm in Birmingham after his loss.